If you are a fan of the paranormal, the unexplained or just the legendary Mothman (first heard of by many courtesy of The Mothman Prophecies starring Richard Gere), you need to see this documentary post haste. It is, quite simply, the most comprehensive look at the story of the Mothman.

There’s really no way to easily sum up what happened to the residents of Point Pleasant, West Virginia starting in 1966 and ending about a year later with over forty of them dead. This lengthy film (the main feature alone is over two hours and the extras are long enough to make sure your evening is utilized to the fullest extent) looks at all the various theories, though, and it does a spectacular job.

The story most people know of the Mothman is that a humanoid bird-like creature with red eyes was first seen at an abandoned TNT plant, where it chased some amorous teens toward town. Then plenty of other residents saw it up until a disaster occurred which changed all their lives. What your average lay person doesn’t know is that there were plenty of UFO and men in black sightings at the same time, a supposed Native American curse, and quite possibly some nasty animal mutations due to the chemical leakage from the plant.

The filmmakers delve into all these theories. Some people are believers. Some are skeptics. All of them seem to believe something went on that can’t be easily explained. The local newspapers were reporting it. The national media came. And for one year a sleepy place at the gateway to the South was essentially held hostage by strange lights, creatures and ultimately death. It is a fascinating story no matter what you believe.

Before watching this film, I thought the length would be its downfall. I was wrong. It gave the director ample time to explore all the angles, which is something this story sorely needed so that the scope of it could be properly understood. Don’t expect hard evidence supporting one side or the other, though. That’s not the point here. All this is doing is putting the story out there for you to decide what you believe. As one of the interviewees says, the true story of what happened will probably never be known. He’s right, but this is a good start.Doug BrunellFilm Threat